Imagine our excitement when The Conran Shop asked for sample of our range of freshly roasted coffees, and imagine our even greater excitement when they loved them and placed an order!

The Conran Shop is the iconic home of true style and design, a meticulous edit of the very best of the very best - and we're deemed by them to be one of those 'best of the best'! We are beyond thrilled to be there.

We're thrilled to announce that our full range of freshly roasted coffees and our Truly Magnificent Hot Chocolate are now available to buy in Selfridges!

We were up in London last week doing at tasting at Selfridges and our Breakfast Coffee had completely sold out by the time we got there! But we've roasted more and sent it off to them.

For a small, family-run business like ours, being in a store like Selfridges and its famous Food Hall is a real honour and very exciting indeed. It makes us think we must be doing something right...! So we'll be doing lots more of the same, and even better. As an old colleague of mine used to say 'good never stops', and we certainly won't.

We're delighted to announce that the Cupsmith Roastery is back open for visitors every Friday morning from March 2nd 2018.

Pop in and see us for a cup of coffee, hot chocolate or tea any time between 10am and 12.30pm. All our hot drinks will be available to buy, and if you want to help us with our committment to use less packaging, bring your own containers and we'll fill those direct and knock a little bit of money off too!

When we first set up Cupsmith, with a mission to bring people the very best quality coffee, tea and hot chocolate for drinking at home every day, we always said the place our products would be really at home is Waitrose. 18 months later we are delighted to see our hot chocolate sitting very happily just there!

We've always been loyal Waitrose shoppers ourselves but it was with some trepidation and a good deal of nerves that we visited their head office to show them our new range of Cupsmith hot chocolate. But we needn't have worried, our experience at head office was just as lovely as it is in store. The people we met couldn't have been nicer or more enthusiastic, and over the next six months led us through the process that put us on the shelves at the beginning of December.

Have you spotted us in the aisles yet? If you see us, post a pic on instagram, facebook or twitter with the hashtag #cupsmithinwaitrose and we'll send you a voucher for a free bag of Cupsmith freshly roasted coffee worth £5.50!

Here’s to a happy, healthy 2018. We can’t wait to see what’s in store. However, as we trudge the second week of January, we have to admit it’s not our favourite month of the year. Festive cheer and New Year celebrations have faded into a distant memory and we’re left staring down the barrel of our well-intentioned resolutions.

Here at Cupsmith we miss the Christmas excitement, but the chaos has also been left behind so this year we’ve decided to try to view January in a new light (a lovely crisp, grey one!). Maybe we can even find some reasons to love it. Perhaps, instead of viewing it as a dull time, it’s actually less pressured. It’s not an anti-climax, but time to think, light candles on dark afternoons, reflect and take care. Less social engagements mean more time to relax. We’re looking forward to enjoying a fresh winter walk and coming home to read a book without feeling guilty about that festive to-do list.

January is also a great time to think ahead. At this time of year nature seems quite dormant and yet now is the time to plant rhubarb and roses for a colourful, delicious summer. And now, at the heart of winter, we will get to see more wildlife come into our gardens in search of food. We’ll definitely be helping the birds and squirrels out with some suet balls, seeds and nuts.

The promise of snow is bad news for the birds but for little ones - and the child in all of us - it’s a hopeful weather time. Snowmen, snowball fights and the excitement of a ‘school snow day’ are all gleefully anticipated. We get regular sky reports from the Cupsmith little ones, particularly on those days when the sky is a never ending stretch of white itself which, we are told, is a good sign of possible snow. Keep your fingers crossed their dreams are fulfilled this January. We are overdue a substantial flurry here in the south east.

All this got us thinking, naturally, about also taking time to enjoy a tea or coffee (or hot chocolate!). A quiet time with your favourite (I’m enjoying a warming cup of our Cupsmith Masala Chai as I type this) can become almost ritualistic. Even just waiting for the kettle can be an opportunity for a mindful moment, time to think and clear the head. Or read a few pages in a beautiful book. Or, most importantly, decide how many biscuits to have on the side. Maybe your ritual isn’t about quietness. We have a friend who has a tea ritual with her children - milky tea and a biscuit for the littles, once or twice a week after school. Apparently it’s especially useful after a bicker-inducing school run (we’ve all been there). Everyone sits for 20 minutes to enjoy their hot drinks and catch up before things get busy, or rather noisy, again. Whatever you do this January, enjoy it!

We love nothing more than time spent outside with the children, walking the dogs, collecting sticks, spotting interesting things and watching the seasons change. So it's probably not surprising that we love books about nature too. Here's our list of favourites this Christmas. Stuck for last minute Christmas ideas? See if any of these tick a few off your list...

The Lost Words– by Robert McFarlane and Jackie Morris is crammed with stunning water colour and gold leaf illustrations. It’s a wonderful celebration of nature and nature-words. Top of our Cupsmith Christmas list.

A First Book of Nature byNicola Davies(Author),‎Mark Hearld(Illustrator) showcases Mark’s wonderful illustrations – in fact this book is so delightful the grown-ups will want one too.

We love a family nature walk at any time of the year, but especially in winter-time. Despite the cold, it’s the ideal way to create some calm during the exciting, full on festive season. It doesn’t cost a thing and requires no organisation. Perfect.

At Cupsmith we're fond of anything crafty and creative and it’s surprisingly easy to combine this with walking - and it also helps chivvy along any reluctant small legs! Whether you go at the pace of a march (bear hunt style) or a meandering bumble, there are lots of opportunities to collect bits of nature along the way and make something later, or there and then. One of our favourites* - secure sticky tape round wrists (or waists, or arms) with the sticky side facing up and pop on little leaves, petals and berries as you go. Children love hunting for treasures and creating instant nature bracelets.

Our top 5 things to do on a walk with the littles:

Huff, puff and see who can breathe the most dragon’s breath

Take a couple of crayons and scraps of paper in your pocket to make quick and easy bark rubbings

Stick picking. On our last walk we collected Harry Potter wands that we then painted at home

Stop along the way (useful if anyone's flagging) to gather a pile of leaves and sticks and make a hedgehog's nest

Take the tech for a bit of modern day treasure hunting a.k.a - Geocaching

Back home, it's time for a hot chocolate to warm chilly fingers. Marshmallows a must.

So, bundle up and get up and out with the small people in your life. Explore a new spot or tramp old ground. Adventure is everywhere, but mainly it’s out there...in the great outdoors.

See you out there!

5 gifts for adventure loving little people

The Lost Words – by Robert McFarlane and Jackie Morris is crammed with stunning water colour and gold leaf illustrations. It’s a wonderful celebration of nature and nature-words. Top of our Cupsmith Christmas list.

A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies (Author),‎ Mark Hearld (Illustrator) showcases Mark’s wonderful illustrations – in fact this book is so delightful the grown-ups will want one too.